It pays to keep the boss happy, particularly when your boss is Le Patron, Ettore Bugatti, a man who had definite limitations on his patience. So after the infamous 1936 strike that prompted Bugatti to become disillusioned with his work force, the Molsheim factory workers reportedly put in extra hours to build Le Patron an extra special car, one that will cross the block in Paris this week.

Or so the story goes. The history of this 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupe, chassis number 57335, contains plenty of qualifiers such as “it’s believed” and “according to some historians.” What does seem to be generally accepted about the origins of 57335 is that the chassis number was originally used for a 1936 Type 57 TT Torpedo originally registered in Ettore Bugatti’s name and driven by Pierre Veyron and Lucien Wurmser in that year’s Paris-Nice Rally. Veyron later crashed the Type 57 and returned it to the factory, where in June 1938 the workers rebuilt it from the ground up, fitting it with a supercharged Type 57 3,257cc double-overhead-camshaft straight-eight and four-speed transmission. They then draped the chassis with a special one-off body, reportedly the last design that Jean Bugatti – who at that time managed the factory for his father – penned before his death. Similar to Jean Bugatti’s Galibier coupes, the four-seat, two door coupe body fitted to 57335 featured a raked windshield and plain sides without rubbing running boards, but added a fastback body shape with a two-piece glass roof.

While the Molsheim workers reportedly presented 57335 as a birthday gift to Le Patron (which doesn’t add up, given that Ettore Bugatti was born in September), and Bugatti is known to have driven 57335 – he hit a bicyclist with it when its steering box locked up – it rather appears that the company used 57335 as a demonstrator and later as a sort of engineering mule. Bugatti is known to have lent it to a number of people connected with the company, including its factory manager, agents, and racing drivers. After World War II (and a daring escape from the factory with the car by Robert Benoist), Bugatti’s director general, Pierre Marco, began to drive it and subject it to a number of upgrades, including a Type 101 steering wheel, Type 101 supercharged engine, Lockheed hydraulic brakes, Rudge-Whitworth wire wheels, a radio and a heater. The coupe then remained with the factory until 1959, when Bugatti sold it to Belgian distributor Jean de Dobbeleer, noting in the invoice, “we confirm that this car belonged to Monsieur Ettore Bugatti and was driven latterly by our general manager, Mr. Pierre Marco.”

Three months later, de Dobbeleer sold 57335 to Anderson, Indiana, resident Lyman Greenlee, who then sold it to William Howell of Oklahoma City. Gary Kohs then bought it in 1982 and held on to it until offering it for no reserve at Gooding’s 2009 Pebble Beach auction; the late John O’Quinn then bought it for $1.375 million. It has appeared twice at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – in 1985 and 2003 – and at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in 2009, but for display purposes only all three times.

Offered by Bonhams this Thursday at its Le Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais auction in Paris, the Type 57 is expected to sell for €800,000 to €1 million, or about $1.1 million to $1.4 million. For more information on the Grand Palais auction, visit Bonhams.com.

UPDATE (8.February 2013): The Bugatti sold for €690,000, including premium, or about $923,000.

24 Responses to “Ettore Bugatti’s Bugatti Type 57 to cross the block”

hmmm…some of these cars..dont get me wrong,some of the Bugattis are just stunning..well this is one that does nothing for me..those headlights..ghastly..the colour..just awfull…gees a 36 Ford or Chevy is a much prettier car…I do love the interior of the Bugatti and engine…

I saw it go across the block at the Gooding in 2009 and was a little surprised that the provenance did not drive the price up a bit more. It may have just been a bad year. the Phil Hill Packard 343 that had a Pebble Beach Best in Show on its résumé did not do as well as expected, either. On the other hand the Bugatti’s body is just ungainly, IMO and the color is unfortunate. As Michael says, there are some stunning Bugattis, but this is not one of them.

It may not be the most endearing design, but it is still a Bugatti and will probably fetch Bugatti-level money. The color may be an attempt to capture the period, but I like the original paint scheme better, as that arrangement accentuates the louvers more.

I went to see this car in Anderson IN. About 1964-65. Lyman
Greenlee wanted 2500 silver dollars for it. Its ever uglier in
person. It was painted with a brush the brush marks look
like corduroy. But its unique there’s a brass plaque on the
dash stating the gift from the employees. Ed

I have noticed on this and some other older exotic cars that the coolant seems to come out of the top middle of the engine before heading to the radiator. Must be because of the length of the engine. I have been told that straight-six engines are harder to cool than v-8s because of this.

Not very graceful in profile, but it has some other interesting angles. I like the glass roof panels and the general stance as seen in rear 3/4 view. The current paint scheme does it no favors–it looked better with just the fenders in black, to my eye.

I saw the car numerous times when Gary Kohs was in possession of it. The car may not photo well, depending on the eye of the photographer, but I can assure you it looks svelte, low, and has a lovely presence.Those that whine about a green like that, display their ignorance of the available color palette and trends of the ’30′s. This would have been more than acceptable then, and if taken in context, not for auction/resale, it is a nice example. As far as the “beauty” of it, If you drive and love your 4 door sedans today, don’t even open your mouth. People that love limos shouldn’t talk either!

Would like to read more about the daring escape. This is another of my favorite “uglies.” Too many disparate shapes that do not harmonize into a whole. The fastback and roof glass are the best part. By 1938 the front end was dated. One man’s opinion.

Holy moly Mr Anderson…a little cranky are we??? Cars like the early Packards from 29 thru the 30s had all kinds of rainbow colours..this should be pulled apart and redone..not resale red either..that would never hurt the sale on this car..if anything it would increase a pool of would be buyers…everyone here has there own ideas…but a car could be from any year..it all boils down to colour and interior right away..people are visual on everything in life..Im not saying the Bugs are not great cars but not all are…goes for any brand…

I was with Mr. Kohs when he bought the car. The color combination is the original for this car. Kohs made no changes of any kind to the car. He felt that if it was good enough for Jean and Ettore Bugatti, it was good enough for him. Jules Kruta and Berhard Simon, authors of, The Bugatti Type 57S, had access to all the factory records which can confirm the claims. It’s a one-off penned by the son as a gift to his father, built by the workers as their gift. I’d say it’s undervalued at $1million+

Nearly 30 years ago I knew a man in Michgan who had a Type 57 Bugati. He had paid about $50K for it and said,”It’s not one of the expensive Bugatti’s.” He wasn’t kidding. It was a sedan and nothing special to look at…but…driving it! Wow. I’d take that for a daily driver any day! This one is prettier than his and I’m sure be a neat car to drive. Unfortunately, it’s worth too much to be a daily driver. That said, if I could affored one, I’d own one.

To me, likably weird, one of those that you either love or hate. I love it for the “weird” reason, one of those that attracts everyone’s attention when being quietly driven onto the show field. Did you notice the horn? And ,apparently, it’s electric air pump? If that’s what it is, I’ll bet it would about blow your ear drums at close range!